I'm in the process of applying for an in-house Japanese to English position and received a response from the employer asking for my rates. Other than occasional freelance positions I've done (four to five projects total), I'm pretty much a beginner. My undergraduate degree is in Japanese studies, and I don't have any work experience that directly applies to the industry this company works in (software related).

A different company that currently has me registered as a freelancer pays me 6 cents per source character. I thought I'd ask what people think would be an appropriate rate considering that the company I currently do freelance work for is Singapore based, and the U.S. based company I'm applying for now I imagine might pay more. Since I know some companies don't want people to ask suggestions for appropriate rates, I thought I'd post my question here before I respond.

Thanks very much for your help.

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Surely they mean what salary are you looking for? If you're working for them full time, they should pay you a fixed income and deduct tax.

Otherwise you're in the position of an Uber driver, where the company pretends that you're a freelance contractor when you're really an employee. You have no job security, and are dependent on one "customer" for all your work.

[Edited at 2017-07-17 19:29 GMT]

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...from a well-established agency I work with told me he used to be an in-house Russian>English translator for them. The pay was 50 dollars an hour. He said he quit because he liked to have more control over his life, so my guess is, he only got paid when there were was work. Not sure how that works exactly.

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As an employee you should expect benefits such as health insurance contributions, sick leave, Social Security contributions. As mentioned above, your employer would deduct state and federal taxes as well as your FICA contributions.

As a contract worker, you would be responsible for finding/paying for your own health insurance, paying taxes, etc. Consequently the hourly rate should be greater than the salary you would receive as an employee since you will receive no benefits.

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I'm in the process of applying for an in-house Japanese to English position and received a response from the employer asking for my rates. Other than occasional freelance positions I've done (four to five projects total), I'm pretty much a beginner. My undergraduate degree is in Japanese studies, and I don't have any work experience that directly applies to the industry this company works in (software related).

A different company that currently has me registered as a freelancer pays me 6 cents per source character. I thought I'd ask what people think would be an appropriate rate considering that the company I currently do freelance work for is Singapore based, and the U.S. based company I'm applying for now I imagine might pay more. Since I know some companies don't want people to ask suggestions for appropriate rates, I thought I'd post my question here before I respond.

Thanks very much for your help.

A bit more information please.

An inhouse job in my book is a fixed job, so forget what you got payed for as a freelancer. As an employee you receive a monthly salary for the work you do, including the whole "shabam" (= insurance, vacation, etc.).

It is a different position, so ask yourself if you want to be a freelancer or working for a company.

Looking at your background, as you decribe it, I think it might be a great experience to build up some (paid) experience, and after that...... who knows.

PS) If not clear, the employer is not asking for your word rate, but how much you want to earn monthly!

[Edited at 2017-07-18 22:08 GMT]

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